Frustrated by this world's problems? Why not try creating your own reality and then spreading the word? That's what the liberal prank outfit The Yes Men did this morning in New York City by organizing a cadre of like-minded volunteers to distribute a bogus copy of The New York Times to bleary-eyed commuters. If the fact that the "paper of record" was on offer for free wasn't enough to hint that something was amiss, the headline certainly was a dead giveaway: IRAQ WAR ENDS.Apparently, the prank took a year to pull off and culminated in not only thousands of copies of a physical newspaper, but also an accompanying website. According to Gawker, the Yes Men intended to stay anoynmous for at least a little while, organizing their goody-bearing mob through a third-party site. The media gossip blog outed them before 9:30 a.m.Here are some highlights from this alternative (and, in many ways, preferable) reality: Congress repeals the Patriot Act by insanely wide margins in both houses. W. is indicted for treason in Federal court. Metaphor machine, and subject of a recent, glowing New Yorker profile, Thomas Friedman closes his laptop for good. The U.S. passes a National Health Insurance Act. Congress institutes a law creating a maximum wage (of 15 times the minimum wage). And oil companies are nationalized and pressed into duty solving cimate change.Adding to the paper's speciousness: no mention of Joe the Plumber or potential pooches for the Obama daughters.
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